


I forgave you a long time ago (though you have yet to forgive yourself)

by CheetahLeopard2



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Jason Todd Needs A Hug, Jason Todd is Red Hood, Jason was tim's robin, M/M, Tim Drake is Red Robin, Wingfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-31
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:29:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27314104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CheetahLeopard2/pseuds/CheetahLeopard2
Summary: A collection exploring Jason & Tim's dynamic
Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Comments: 8
Kudos: 45





	I forgave you a long time ago (though you have yet to forgive yourself)

**Author's Note:**

> So this can either be read as slash or not. These fics basically are Tim & Jason as they have a chance bond for the first time, and I'm probably going to lean to a romantic bond rather than a familial one

“Hey.”

The word comes from behind him, voice more familiar than the tentative tone it carries.

Jason doesn’t reply, fingers of his left hand digging hard enough into the cold concrete lip of the roof for him to know without looking they’re bone-white.

Instead, he looks out over the city, run-down buildings and the occasional lit window wavering through the smog that seems to coat Gotham, weaving through buildings and her people’s lungs, hooking them worse than the burn of the cigarette hanging loosely in his right fingers ever could.

There’s rustling from the figure behind him- hesitant shifting, steeling resolve- before a weight settles beside him.

“Whatdya want, Red?” Jason finally exhales, when it’s clear Tim’s not going to say anything.

“We’re both Reds,” Tim points out, avoiding the question.

Jason rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything, instead taking another drag of his cigarette and watching as the smoke curls into the air.

Tim’s silent beside him, kicking his feet and ruffling out his feathers once in a while but making no other movements.

The silence drags on for a bit, just enough for it to edge into something companionable rather than tense.

“You know,” Tim says abruptly, in the same manner he would if he were in the middle of a conversation rather than breaking silence, “I never thought this’d happen.”

“What?” Jason snorts bitterly, “Sittin’ next to me without getting a gun pulled on ya?”

“Sitting next to you,” Tim corrects, and Jason freezes, cigarette halfway to his mouth, “in general.”

Jason bristles, his wings twitching with an aborted threat display. The air feels colder all of a sudden, green pulsing at the edge of his vision.

“Yeah,” Jason barks a harsh laugh, “No shit, I was _dead_.”

Tim winces, wings drawing tighter to his back the only reason Jason realizes he was relaxed in the first place, “No, Jason,” he says, voice quiet and tight with something that sounds uncomfortably close to regret.

“You were my _hero_.”

Jason’s breath freezes in his lungs, and the green creeping along the edges of his vision clears. His fingers tremble as he lowers the cigarette, wings shaking despite being tightly folded against his back.

“What?” he barks, wincing at how harshly the word comes out.

“I was nine when I figured out Batman and Robin, ya know?” Tim says, and Jason’s thoughts scratch like a record, blue-screening.

Tim’s wings loosen as he goes on, taking Jason’s gobsmacked silence as permission to continue, “I used to follow on patrols with a camera. The first Robin was awesome, but,” Tim swallows, right hand rubbing unconsciously over his collarbone as he stares out over the city, “You were my favorite. You- When you died-” Tim’s voice cracks a bit on the word, and Jason’s wings twitched to wrap around him.

Tim takes a deep breath and tries again, “When you died, it hit me hard. Looking back, I’m surprised I didn’t die with how little care I put into. Into everything I did, honestly.”

Tim glances at Jason, then, white-outs of his mask flipped up, and Jason can see how his blue eyes glisten with unshed tears and the self-depreciating downward quirk of his lips.

Tim shifts, rubbing his eyes quickly before flipping down the white-outs, “So yeah, I just…” he hesitates, wings shifting in preparation for flight, “I want you to know you’ll always matter to someone, Jason. Even when you don’t know it.”

And then, with a quick sweep of rust-black wings, he’s gone, leaving Jason feeling cracked and more broken than before.

His left hand aches when he releases the edge of the roof but his heart aches worse when he brings trembling fingers to his neck, where he knows Tim has a thick scar by Jason’s knife.

 _What kind of kid,_ he wonders, _deserves a_ _‘hero’ like me?_

( _Not Tim_ , he knows, the truth of it twisting a blade into his soul, _Not Tim_.)

**Author's Note:**

> Please comment!! Seriously


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